Sporting news

Published on Nov. 7, 2013 | Updated on Nov. 8, 2013

Nov. 7, 2013

The Chicago Bears expect quarterback Jay Cutler to return to the starting lineup in Sunday's Week 10 home game against the Detroit Lions, the team announced Thursday. Cutler missed the Week 9 road win over the Green Bay Packers with a groin injury.

The initial diagnosis when Cutler was hurt in the Week 7 loss at Washington before the Week 8 bye was that he would need to miss four weeks or more. Barring any setbacks, Cutler has cut down the recovery time to two weeks. Coach Marc Trestman, in declaring Cutler's status, said the QB did everything "24/7" to rehabiliate following the painful sack against the Redskins, adding "he could never recall a player rebounding from injury" in the same way.

As well as backup Josh McCown played against the Packers in continuing to keep the Bears' balanced offense humming, the Bears still will happily welcome the bigger-arm Cutler back for what figures to be another shootout in a rematch with Matt Stafford and the Lions. Given Green Bay just lost its quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, to a longer-term collarbone injury, the quick clean bill of health for Cutler and the chance to host Detroit tips the tight NFC North in Chicago's favor.

As Cutler is cleared, Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer doesn't plan to hold back anything with the playbook. "We're calling the offense as we normally would."

LAWYER: MARTIN WAS FED UP

Yet another development in the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito brouhaha: A lawyer for Martin accused an unnamed Miami Dolphins teammate of threatening to sexually assault Martin's sister.

The lawyer, David Cornwell, made the claim in a statement Thursday night that was obtained by ProFootballTalk.com. Cornwell also said that Martin left the team because of bullying and harassment by other players.

Cornwell did not name names, but he alluded to the voicemail message from Dolphins guard Richie Incognito that got Incognito suspended this week and helped spark an investigation by the NFL.

An excerpt from Cornwell's statement:

Jonathan endured harassment that went far beyond the traditional locker room hazing. For the entire season-and-a-half that he was with the Dolphins, he attempted to befriend the same teammates who subjected him to the abuse with the hope that doing so would end the harassment. This is a textbook reaction of victims of bullying. Despite these efforts, the taunting continued. Beyond the well-publicized voice mail with its racial epithet, Jonathan endured a malicious physical attack on him by a teammate, and daily vulgar comments ... . These facts are not in dispute.

Eventually, Jonathan made a difficult choice. Despite his love for football, Jonathan left the Dolphins. Jonathan looks forward to getting back to playing football. In the meantime, he will cooperate fully with the NFL investigation.

WHITE SAYS HE’S READY

Atlanta Falcons receiver Roddy White feels better than he has all season.

He has no doubt that he'll be playing Sunday when the struggling Falcons (2-6) host first-place Seattle (8-1). White looked like his old self Thursday as he held court in front of his locker. He has been plagued since the preseason by a sprained right ankle, and he made things worse with a hamstring injury in Week 5.

After sitting out the last three games, White finally feels like he's fully recovered. He also concedes he probably would've been better off sitting out a game or two at the start of the season so his high ankle sprain could fully heal. White has struggled even when he's been on the field, with only 14 receptions and no touchdowns.

MATTHEWS WILL PLAY

Without quarterback Aaron Rodgers leading their offense for a while, the Green Bay Packers got some needed good injury news about their best defensive player. Outside linebacker Clay Matthews, who has been out a month with a broken thumb, may return to action in this week's home game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Matthews, who fully practiced on Thursday, is looking at playing, assuming he isn't bothered by the fact he needs to play with a club on his right hand. Given his disruptive nature as a pass rusher and run stopper, his relentless energy can make up for the fact he may have full use of only five digits.

The Packers need to become much stronger defensively. Seneca Wallace is playing for Rodgers, so they can't expect the offense to carry them anymore. The defense didn't really slow down the balanced Chicago Bears offense in Week 9 without Matthews. It will be another challenge against the Eagles, the team that just threw for seven touchdown passes with Nick Foles at the helm. Running back LeSean McCoy will be a key pursuit for Matthews.

There's also a chance that Matthews will be flanked by Nick Perry coming off the other edge. Perry filled in well, getting sacks and making plays for Matthews before he injured his foot and had to miss time.

DORSETT'S HAS BRAIN INJURY, CTE

Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett, one of three retired players diagnosed with signs of the degenerative brain disease CTE, says that he has been told he is clinically depressed, and has briefly considered suicide.

"I've thought about crazy stuff, sort of like, 'Why do I need to continue going through this?'" Dorsett told ESPN Wednesday. "I'm too smart of a person, I like to think, to take my life, but it's crossed my mind."

Dorsett also told the network’s “Highly Questionable” that he has gotten lost driving his daughters to familiar places, and has struggled to control his emotions around his family.

He is one of three players examined at UCLA over the last three months who were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease found in more than 50 deceased NFL players. Some of those players committed suicide, including Junior Seau, Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling.

Doctors shared the results on Dorsett, Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamielleurre and Pro Bowl defensive end Leonard Marshall with ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.” Researchers and specialists have been looking for a way to diagnose CTE in living patients.

GIANTS' MOVES

The New York Giants have put second-year running back David Wilson on season-ending injured reserve, the team announced Thursday. They'll activate running back Andre Brown with the intent for him to play in the Week 10 home game against the Oakland Raiders.

Wilson last played against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 6, the game in which he injured his neck. Although the Giants noted last week that Wilson had made good progress, given that he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, doctors and the team are taking no chances with his recovery.

Brown and Wilson were supposed to form a throwback to the Thunder and Lightning days with Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber, or more recently, the Earth and Fire that Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw were as a 1-2 power/speed combination. Brown, however, hasn't played all season after suffering a leg injury in the Giants' final preseason game. Week 10 had been his targeted return date, as the team had put him on injured reserve with designation to return.

The Giants rode Jacobs again for a while in their combined absence, but then Jacobs came up lame with a hamstring after turning in one strong game against the Chicago Bears. That prompted them to sign Peyton Hillis off the street and put rookie Michael Cox into a bigger role. Hillis likely will get the most touches vs. Oakland as Brown is expected to be eased into a bigger workload, but given the Giants' limited options, he figures to get a lot of carries in the second half of the season coming off their Week 9 bye.

GOODSON INDICTED

In May, Goodson was arrested when state police found in his vehicle a Taurus .45 caliber handgun loaded with a hollow point bullet. He has been indicted on charges of second degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and fourth degree prohibited weapons and devices. Garant Evans, who with Goodson at the time of the arrest, has also been indicted.

Goodson was late reporting to camp because of his legal issues. He has suspended the first four games of the season, but in his second game back, tore his ACL and was done for the year.

Goodson had signed a three-year, $6 million contract with the Jets in March after playing three seasons with the Panthers and one with the Oakland Raiders.